1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ink sheet reel on which an ink sheet used in a heat transfer recording system can be wound, an ink sheet cartridge using this ink sheet reel, and a recording apparatus using these.
The term "recording apparatus" covers, for example, a facsimile apparatus, a typewriter, a copying apparatus and a printer.
2. Related Background Art
Description will hereinafter be made with a facsimile apparatus taken as an example of the recording apparatus.
In recent years, there has been developed a facsimile apparatus of the so-called heat transfer recording type which uses an ink sheet.
The facsimile apparatus of the heat transfer recording type offers the advantages that plain paper or the like can be used as a recording sheet and that images can be recorded clearly.
In the facsimile apparatus of said heat transfer recording type, a supply reel for supplying an ink sheet and a take-up reel for taking up the ink sheet from the supply reel are loaded into a loading portion such as a recording cover, or the supply reel and the take-up reel as an ink sheet cartridge (hereinafter referred to as the ink cartridge) contained in a container are loaded into the loading portion such as the recording cover, and in order to enable this loading to be accomplished smoothly and easily, there is provided some gap axially of the reels between the supply reel or the take-up reel and the loading portion.
However, in the conventional facsimile apparatus of the heat transfer recording type, spur gears are used as power transmission gears for the take-up reel and supply reel sides and power transmission gears for the conveying drive system side. Therefore, if a gap is provided between the supply reel or the take-up reel and the loading portion as previously described, the take-up reel and the supply reel may have lush in the axial direction, and this in turn leads to the disadvantage that oblique movement or skew or wrinkling of the ink sheet and unsatisfactory take-up of the ink sheet are caused.
Also, to prevent the oblique movement or the like of the ink sheet caused by the jolting of these reels, axial pressure (side pressure) must be applied to the reels and for this purpose, spring means or the like becomes necessary, and this means the invention requires an increased number of parts.